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Irish fan in peace!
Really impressed by you guys this season, especially the win over barf! Quite worried by this game as Newcastle is a tough place to go especially after 3 demoralising losses! Always enjoy talking to your fans but unfortunately can't get up there Friday, might be a good one to miss however! For those interested here's what team i think the coaches will go with
Elrington
Paice
Franks
Mcnally
De chaves
Schatz
Cowan
Treviranus
Steele
Marshall
Nalaga
Williams
Tikorituma
Lewington
Bell

Irish are a great club and I hope they stay up.... but this has to be a five point game if we are to prove our credentials as a top 6 team. I would keep the same 15 as last week as they were terrific at times. And if flood and mermoz are fit put them on the bench for some much needed game time

Talk of 5 pointers I find disrespectful of your opponent. I think it's a bonus, but much rather we aim to win the game.
Quite a bit of talk of 5 pointers on the Bath thread prior to playing us, and we know what happened there.
But agree I would also keep the 15 who started at Bath.

lizard118Talk of 5 pointers I find disrespectful of your opponent. I think it's a bonus, but much rather we aim to win the game.
Quite a bit of talk of 5 pointers on the Bath thread prior to playing us, and we know what happened there.
But agree I would also keep the 15 who started at Bath.

I always tend to think we should take each game as it comes and not look at finishing positions etc.

For me that even includes just respecting what is in front of us and doing our best to get the win. End of

lizard118Talk of 5 pointers I find disrespectful of your opponent. I think it's a bonus, but much rather we aim to win the game.
Quite a bit of talk of 5 pointers on the Bath thread prior to playing us, and we know what happened there.
But agree I would also keep the 15 who started at Bath.

I always tend to think we should take each game as it comes and not look at finishing positions etc.

For me that even includes just respecting what is in front of us and doing our best to get the win. End of

What youse said, you don't deserve or have the right to anything in this league, you have to work for it, we should go into every game looking to take the win and go from there.

It's nice to be positive going into these matches and even think to mention the hallowed 5 points. Probably a bit hopeful as Irish have a point to prove and have a good team. I reckon not losing is a result and anything else is a bonus.
However a couple more wins and we will probably have avoided relegation this year and then every point thereafter is a step closer to the top 6. I think we have been on the losing end enough to enjoy our wins, unlike Bath who seem to expect it.
What I do find arrogant though is when we play teams and it's assumed that our wins are down to the other team playing badly rather than accepting that we are a pretty decent team at present.

No disrespect taken, as said above, I'd hope both teams were aiming for a 5 point win.

I'm genuinely pleased for Falcons uprising in the past few seasons, what's most pleasing about it is that it seems to be done "right" i.e. pick players that work for you within a reasonable budget and train as a squad. How ever it was done it does seem to be working and that's pleasing.

That's not going to stop me hoping we take the wheels off your racing chariot tomorrow but that's to be expected.

Nice preview - particularly like the understanding of where Irish as a club is and how they got there.

Slight corrections: last week's game was against Sale - the Exeter game was the previous week. Not that it matters the effect was much the same. Although in neither game did we allow 40 points past us (37 and 36... ah, fair enough).

Good luck for the rest of the season (tomorrow and New Year excepting).

If i could I would take 2 points now! After our excellent start I'd happily watch a very entertaining game tomorrow and leave with a losing and try bonus point or Draw. The Irish are a strong TEAM , nothing like when London Welsh, Brizzle, Wuss came back into the Prem.

Really excited for tomorrow night. The lads need to take advantage of this momentum and get the win. In the past this is the type of fixture that we have not turned up for and if we are to progress up the table this is a must win game
Team looks good but where are Flood and Maxine?

I can understand calls for flood and mermoz but who do you drop out of the squad? Joel, metevesi, Harris?? All have had a great start to the season so what kind of message does it send out if they are dropped? They should be eased in with the European games and if the have stormers then Deano could have a bit more justification to the squad in dropping somebody.

I honestly don't understand the fixation with Flood and Maxime whilst the guys on the pitch are delivering. They will be brought in when ready I'm sure.
In the meantime we have a strong team out more than capable of delivering the goods. If we can match Bath at the Rec, I'm sure we can more than match Irish on our own patch.
Really nice to see some continuity in selection. Guys on the periphery have to play themselves into the team, and that can only be a good thing long term.
Excited to see if Craig Willis is the real deal and replicate his performance against Bath.

I would imagine Flood and Mermoz will be on top salaries and both the players and management wouldn’t have visualised leaving them out when they were recruited however it would be wrong to drop anyone after last week but would expect both of them if fit to be introduced from the bench in the next week or two.

I absolutely agree with you. We couldn't ask for any more from the players thus far so why pick them? They are going to need to up their game to get in the team now. That is what is going to make a difference. This way, we won't get a mermoz who is coasting...we will get a mermoz who needs to be at the top of his game. Ditto with flood.

My one concern is the pressure on the prop forwards who have played an awful lot of rugby already. I would have looked at maybe being Sami a start, for example.

I think it is a really important game. The win at bath doesn't mean much if we lose at home to an Irish side that are going to be RABIDLY motivated.

By the way, I wouldn't swap green, witty, taka, cooper or goneva for any other players in the league.

Don't think the burden on Welsh and Vickers should be too bad. After this opening block of 6 games the rest of the premiership season comes in bite-sized pieces and they can be rested for most of the Anglo Welsh and ECC games.

I think our scrum will be up against it tonight Irish have Ben Franks, David Paice and Petrus Du Plessis anchoring theirs. Can't see us getting much change there.
Interesting much up with Latu against Treviranus! I can hear the shuddering!

lizard118I think our scrum will be up against it tonight Irish have Ben Franks, David Paice and Petrus Du Plessis anchoring theirs. Can't see us getting much change there.
Interesting much up with Latu against Treviranus! I can hear the shuddering!

Latu will be relishing that battle.

I remember when we played Northampton at KP in the prem last season, Teimana Harrison vs Nili Latu, some of the hits Nili put in on him where colossal and borderline illegal! Could hear the connection at the back of the Southstand

lizard118That's a subplot to the game itself Ff07.
Latu is getting back to his warrior best. Another who has been unlucky with injuries and was not the same player last season.

I agree, hes been fantastic in every game this season, absolute warrior in defence.

I have noticed he's quite crafty with his running lines as he runs quite close to the referee and uses him as a blocker sometimes, crafty play but also effective for getting you on the front foot and preventing the oppo from smashing you!

We'll not be underestimating anyone GF, we are not in any position to be doing that. My thinking is more around if we stop Latu and Takulua then we should in theory have to worry less about what the guys from 10-15 are capable of doing.

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